Mayavati, a place famous for Sri Ramakrish Math Centre in the midst of surrounding thick forest. This place is 9 km away from Lohaghat. It is in Champawat district of Uttarakhand. The moment you cross the bridge over a small rivulet towards Mayavati the whole scenario changes. As if you are entering into a divine world away from the mundane one.
In the year 2006 we finally decided to go to Mayavati, Pithoragarh, Munsyaryi, Choukori and Almora. Many people do not know this place neither it is a very attractive hill station. But for the devotees of Sri Ramakrishna and Vivekananda it hae a great significance. Swami Vivekananda started this centre with the help of Mr. & Mrs. Saviour, his disciples, way back in 1897. He also stayed for a fortnight there. I have been longing to visit this sacred place for quite some time.
We booked our accommodation for Lohaghat guest house with KMVN in Delhi office. Our route was Delhi-Kathgodam(by train) Kathgodam -Lohaghat(by hired taxi). on 14th June, 2006 morning we had our breakfast at the guest house and left for Mayavati in a jeep. This is about 11 k.m. from our guest house. This is the only Ashram of Sri Ramakrishna Brotherhood where no formal worshipping takes place and there are no idol to worship either unlike other centres of this brotherhood. The location is wonderful amid thick forest commanding a grand view of the Himalayas(unfortunately the summer time- May/June remains cloudy). It is situated at a height of 1940m. This place had a special attraction for me because Swamiji stayed at this Ashram for 14 days from 3rd January to 17th January, 1901 when it was mostly raining, or snowing. Only for 2 or 3 days the weather was little better and he could take a walk along the lake(now a volleyball court).
One day, walking by the lake with Mrs. Saviour and others, he said to her, "In the latter part of my life, I shall give up all public work and pass my days in writing books and whistling merry tunes by this lake, free as a child!" What a wonderful personality he had, I could imagine standing by the side of this apparent lake.
The Library room where Swamiji stayed during his sojourn at Mayavati has been converted into a Meditation Hall. I was thrilled to enter the room as if he were present there. The fire place which warmed him once remained a mute witness to his presence. If only the books, the fireplace could narrate to us the tale of his dynamic presence! What a difference could it make to the visitors of this wonderful place!
We sat in the room quietly for sometime. I was thinking how fortunate these books in the library are. These could see the history in the making. Although physically a very little change has been effected and maintained to present a view of the room as it looked during Swamiji’s visit, in reality more than a century flew by. If I knew the art of freezing time, we could have met him here, in this room. What a miracle it would have been! After offering my respect to this great spiritual leader, I stepped out of the room remembering his message of fearlessness. The blooming flowers in the well laid out garden was another illustration of love for the nature of the inmates. I took a walk in the garden and marveled at the glory of that Supreme that helped create this beautiful nature. There I happened to meet one visitor who frequents this place to enjoy the serene and sombre atmosphere of the Ashram. He took me to the lake where Swamiji used to take a walk by it. I also visited the place where Swami Swarupananda used to meditate. Mrs. Saviour got him a netted structure to keep leperds or such animals at bay so that Swami Swarupananda, the first president of Mayavati, could meditate without any disturbance. As photography inside the Math premises was prohibited, I went to the book stall and found a copy of the awakened India January 1999 issue. This issue was dedicated to the story and history of Mayavati with a special coverage given on the visit of Swamiji. This issue is indeed a marvelous collection of writings and gives you in details the evolution of Mayavati Ashram through the century and how the baton was passed on to one
We had to leave Mayavati Ashram reluctantly as the closing time was knocking at the door. We thought of spending substantial time at Mayavati but the administrative limitation did not permit us to do so. However, what we experienced there would remain with us for ever.